The 2016 In the Margins Book Awards Are Unveiled

P.D. Workman’s fictional Tattooed Teardrops and Tewhan Butler’s nonfiction title America’s Massacre: The Audacity of Despair and a Message of Hope top this year’s In the Margins (ITM) Book Awards. The selection committee, operating under Library Services for Youth in Custody, selected these winning works among books by, for, and about kids living in the margins. Many of the books selected were either self-published or released by small presses. For the second time in the award’s history, the committee has also chosen a Social Justice/Advocacy Award-winner: Girls in Justice by Richard Ross. For more info about the award, the winning titles, the Top Ten list, and annotations, see the official press release below.

SAN FRANCISCO —The In the Margins Book Award and Selection Committee, (ITM) a committee under the umbrella of Library Services for Youth in Custody (LYSC) selected their top fiction book, Tattooed Teardrops by PD Workman and non-fiction book, America’s Massacre: The Audacity of Despair and a Message of Hope by Tewhan Butler as well as a list of Top Ten, an official list of books by, for and about kids living in the margins. ITM strives to find the best books for teens living in poverty, on the streets, in custody, or a cycle of all three.

Many people in the margins choose to self-publish. We are dedicated to finding the best of the best of these titles that fit our charge. This is our third year of highlighting self and small press published books that validate, illuminate and humanize those living in the margins. We bring true diversity to bookshelves and libraries by reading, reviewing, debating, soliciting teen feedback and awarding honors for these titles. The majority of our list may be unknown to you or have gotten little attention in traditional reviews, but are hits with our teens. This is a statement for the need for more of us to look for and highlight diverse books. This year we continue with our top fiction, top non-fiction, and Social Justice | Advocacy award category. We are proud to contribute to bringing these voices out of the underground and into your libraries, and hope more and more librarians and awards committees will see the value and necessity of including self-published and small press published books.In the Margins Top Fiction Award, 2016: Tattooed Teardrops by P.D. Workman
In the Margins Top Non-Fiction Award, 2016: America’s Massacre: The Audacity of Despair and a Message of Hope by Tewhan Butler

In addition, for the second year, we have chosen a title for our Social Justice/Advocacy Award. The winning title is: Girls in Justice by Richard Ross

In the Margins Official 2016 Top Ten List

Butler, Tewhan. America’s Massacre: The Audacity of Despair and a Message of Hope. Raise UP Media. October 2014. PB $19.99. ISBN 9780692281826.

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About Shelley Diaz

Shelley M. Diaz (sdiaz@mediasourceinc.com) is School Library Journal's Reviews Team Manager and SLJTeen newsletter editor. She has her MLIS in Public Librarianship with a Certificate in Children’s & YA Services from Queens College, and can be found on Twitter @sdiaz101.

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